Being real comes with a price. You have to be willing to strip away everything false in order to let everyone see you as you are.

Most people are not ready for that. Showing the world who you are can lead to rejection. To having clients leave. To having people criticize you for daring to state unpopular opinions.

That’s what we talk about when we talk about authenticity. Brene Brown’s studies in vulnerability have been part of this surge to strip away the artifice and get down to it.

But are you ready for it? Really ready?

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

We live in a culture where we’re programmed to fit in. To buy what we’re told we should buy. To follow trends and celebrities and not deviate from the accepted norm. So how do you make the leap into authenticity under those conditions?

When I started my business, the idea was to pretend to have a bigger company than you really had. You were to say “we” and not “I.” After a while that flipped and it became the thing to be yourself without filters or pretense. Build a brand around yourself and your interests.

I’m all for that. but at the same time, has authenticity become just another burden? Are we marching to the beat of yet another rule to be followed?

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” – Brené Brown

For entrepreneurs, reinvention is a constant state of being. Seems that every other newsletter I receive contains a missive from a business owner who’s about to switch to a whole new thing. Even business owners who’ve only recently changed their logos, tag lines, websites etc. are already revamping.

It’s sort of like how the movie franchise reboot cycle seems to be shorter and shorter. Every couple of years here comes the new, improved version of a character. Like someone hit the reset button and it stayed pressed.

If you’ve been in business for 5 or more years, chances are you’re wondering if it’s time for a restart.

What’s the new thing? What are people expecting now? Should you chase the hot new thing?

I’ve had my Women Entrepreneurs Radio™ podcast for over 8 years. When I started it was a novelty of sorts. Now (from what I’ve read) podcasting is the hot “new” thing.

Entrepreneurs can end up running in circles searching for a viable business idea. What used to work might seem stale now. So you start searching for the thing that will turn it all around.

Which brings me back to authenticity. On the plus side, being authentic is an advantage because when you’re being yourself, you have no competition. Standing out in your field becomes easier when you’re no longer one of many. “Why try to be someone you’re not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required.” -Robert Brault

But if you’re leaping on the bandwagon because it’s the hot, new, hip thing–and you’ve got to pretend to be what you think it means to be authentic–maybe you should think again. If it’s real, people will pick up on it. They’ll just know. And if it’s not, they’ll pick up on that too.

At the end of the day, you can’t fake realness.It’s not like buying a faux designer purse and passing it off as the real thing. You can’t fake your way to being authentic.

Recently I was listening to the audio version of Maya Angelou’s book, Heart of a Woman. She narrated this book and it described a part of her life when she raised her son, married and moved to another continent. She was real, honest and raw at times. Unflinching about presenting the truth of her life, she didn’t stop at sharing the good and the bad.

Obviously she wasn’t trying to write a feel-good book filled with sanitized experiences. And in her honesty, I could connect with the woman behind the words. (Which is why her passing affected so many so deeply and why people felt like they knew her when they didn’t.)

Realness. Authenticity. I’m going to tell my story even if it hurts. Even if it’s messy. Even if what I say is hard to hear.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

For business owners, if we don’t find a way to stand out, how can we ever line up with our ideal clients? It takes courage to be out there as we are, without the protective covering and the slick packaging. To be raw and honest.

That’s what authenticity really is. Not a buzzword or yet another false face to hide behind. It takes courage. But there are rewards. You’ll connect with people who are hungry for what you have to deliver. They’ll relate to you because they’ll pick up on your honesty. They’ll know that you’re giving them something real.

About the Author: Deborah A. Bailey is a writer, coach, author of several fiction and non-fiction books and creator and host of the Women Entrepreneurs Radio™ podcast and founder of Deb Bailey Media.

An effective logo design can ensure potential customers are immediately able to recognize a brand or business.

A common mistake for many businesses is to assume that logos only play a role in the recolonization of a business, ignoring the potential role that psychology may play in the design and implementation of a logo.

According to the Harvard Business Review, the intersection of branding and design is more important now than ever before. Well-crafted logos can play a key role in ensuring that a business is able to equate itself with a particular concept, philosophy or image.

Logos are Brand Identity

A well-designed logo can play a key role in business marketing by ensuring customers are more likely to associate a business with its reputation or identity. The right graphic, image or logo design makes it much easier to establish a more prominent and recognizable business identity as well as to ensure potential customers and future clients are more easily able to associate a company with its chosen philosophy or established reputation.

The Apple logo is a perfect example of a logo design that immediately calls to mind sleek easy-to-use electronic devices. An effective logo can be an invaluable resource when it comes to establishing and maintaining the right brand or business identity.

Logo Shapes and Styles

Shape is of paramount importance in terms of effective logo design. The human brain is hard-wired to recognize shapes and patterns, and changing even the most minor details of a logo design can elicit a very different response or interpretation.

Curved lines, used in either abstract images or more practical designs, tend to produce a more comforting and positive response. Straight vertical lines may suggest balance or strength while circles, particularly overlapping or interlocking circles, are often used to represent partnership or endurance.

Squares and rectangles, such as the square featured in the National Geographic logo, are typically seen as expressing respectability and endurance by creating a balance between horizontal and vertical lines. Businesses that are seeking a logo that expresses power or that may be catering to a more masculine client base would do well to create a logo that features a triangle, a shape that expresses dynamism as seen with the Adidas or Citgo logo.

The shapes and style of a logo is one of the most important aspects of design.

Color Scheme and Tone

Color scheme and tone are also important aspects of logo psychology. Different colors typically produce a different emotional response or association, and selecting colors that do not fit the intended image or identity of a business can drastically reduce the effectiveness of a logo.

A black color scheme is often ideal for suggesting mystery or sophistication while a white design may be more suitable for businesses who wish to be associated with simplicity or purity. The most effective logo designs are often those that feature only one or two colors in order to ensure a stronger emotional association.

More colorful logos can be used to elicit a variety of emotional responses. The red color scheme of the Coca-Cola logo is intended to associate the brand with energy and passion while the more stately purple scheme of the Yahoo! logo is strongly associated with royalty, wisdom or luxury.

While choosing the right color or group of colors is very important, logos also need to work in black and white as some media channels and advertising opportunities may not be able to utilize a full color palate. Trying out many different shades of color during the design phase can help to ensure that logos are able to be as attractive as possible as well as to ensure they trigger the right cognitive and emotional associations.

Creating a Logo Better Suited to Your Brand or Business

Lacking a logo entirely or utilizing one that has been poorly designed can be a more costly oversight than many businesses might realize. Lacking a logo makes it far more difficult for customers and clients to form an emotional impression of a business and poor designs may contribute to a brand or corporate identity that is seen as less than professional.

Determining what sort of impression or association businesses wish to elicit is often the first step in creating a new logo or assessing the effectiveness of an existing one. Selecting the right style, choosing the best shapes and images and determining the right color scheme can all help organizations to create a logo that will be better suited to their brand and identity.

Logos and Marketing Campaigns

From Fortune 500 companies to the smallest new startups, the right logo can play a critical role during any marketing strategy or advertising campaign. Logos allow businesses to provide a great deal of information regarding their identity and philosophy in a graphic format that can be quickly and readily digested and understood.

Displaying logos on websites, emails, print advertising and even clothing can allow businesses to more easily attract the volume of new customers and clients they need to enjoy success in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace.

About the Author: Jessica Kane is a professional writer who has an interest in graphic design, marketing, and printing. She currently writes for 777 Sign, her go to place for banner signs, custom flags and custom signs printing.